A few weeks ago, Trader Joe’s announced they were making a Dubai-style chocolate bar. As a digital food creator, recipe developer and Trader Joe’s enthusiast, suddenly my texts, DMs and group chats were on fire.
“Have you tried it yet?”…“Is this real?”… “You’ll have to try this on Trader No-s or Trader Go-s,” my crew exclaimed.
I hadn’t even seen the product yet, but everyone wanted me to weigh in. I’ve become a big fan of the candy bars since they rose to worldwide popularity in late 2023. Chocolate and pistachio are my favorite savory-sweet combo of all time, and I was excited to try it.
Now Trader Joe’s is in the driver’s seat with their own version of the trendy treat. Here’s everything you need to know about the hard-to-find Trader Joe’s Dubai Chocolate Bar (it’s sold out in many locations), plus my very honest take.
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What is Trader Joe’s Dubai Chocolate Bar?
The original version of this bar comes from Dubai’s viral dessert shop Fix Dessert Chocolatier, which is known for stuffing chocolate bars with creamy and crispy fillings. Not so shockingly, their pistachio knafeh (aka shredded crispy phyllo dough) broke the internet and had sweet tooths across the globe locked in. Enter Trader Joe’s, who hopped on the trend as quickly as they could, which was just about 18 months since it became a worldwide phenomenon.
Made and distributed by the Turkish company Pastislove exclusively for Trader Joe’s, the chocolate bar features a 50% dark chocolate shell, a pistachio cream filling made with 50% Boz Antep pistachios and crispy shredded phyllo dough. The bar is sectioned into 16 pieces, which makes for easy sharing.
Related: I Tried the Viral Dubai Strawberry Cup That Broke the Internet, and It’s Just as Delicious as Everyone Says
Why Is the Trader Joe’s Dubai Chocolate Bar So Popular?
Two words: accessibility and affordability. The chocolate bars aren’t sold at many mainstream grocery stores and are usually difficult to find. When you do find them, they’re often in the $18-24 range, so Trader Joe’s selling the candy for $3.99 is a huge bargain. I was lucky to stumble upon a few last week, but have since been told they won’t be back on shelves in my area until mid-July.
Related: I Tried Shake Shack’s New Dubai Chocolate Pistachio Shake, and It’s an Absolute 10/10
Jeanette Donnarumma
What I Thought of the Trader Joe’s Dubai Chocolate Bar
I get the buzz. The excitement is real! But truthfully, I found Trader Joe’s take on the viral Dubai chocolate bar to be a bit underwhelming. The chocolate and filling are both of high quality. The dark chocolate is a great combination of sweet and bitter, which balances well with the sugary pistachio cream filling. The layer of kataifi shreds adds a nice contrast in texture.
If you’ve ever tried an original Dubai bar, it’s easy to see the difference. The original version is more dense, more decadent and has much more pistachio filling than this version. The original bars have a vibe that’s more similar to baklava than a candy bar.
Trader Joe’s version skews on the lighter side. Is the Trader Joe’s Dubai Chocolate Bar an OG dupe? Nope. Is it very delicious and satisfying? Yes! And you can’t beat the $3.99 price tag, so if you spot one in the wild, it’s worth giving it a shot, even if it’s just to join the conversation.
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